


Things You Didn’t Say At All

by TheLoneWolf_48



Series: The things we say and we don't say [5]
Category: AKB48, AKB48 & Related Fandoms, HKT48
Genre: Angst and Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Crack Relationships, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Hanako is the Original Character, Mentions of Kashiwagi Yuki, Mild Smut, mentions of bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:41:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26136712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLoneWolf_48/pseuds/TheLoneWolf_48
Summary: After more than 10 years... What happens when your ex-best friend becomes your boss? What happens when it was you who cut the friendship because you fell in love with said best friend?Sashihara Rino knows the answer, maybe...
Relationships: Sashihara Rino/Watanabe Mayu
Series: The things we say and we don't say [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795240
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Things You Didn’t Say At All

**Author's Note:**

> Listen... These prompts are really great but this particular one raised the bar way too high because it almost drives me crazy! 
> 
> BUT, FINALLY, here it is.
> 
> It took me days!
> 
> Shout out to someone from Twitter that gave me this crack ship. I really enjoyed the challenge and I hope you enjoy the fic! (You know who you are!)

Sashihara Rino looks at her new boss until she reaches her office. After two weeks, it felt weird to call her Watanabe-san.

“Why don’t you talk to her?”

“Oh, sure!” Rino turned to look at her friend, Ota Aika, lean against her desk, arms crossed. Rino leaning back in her chair. “‘Hey, Mayu. I’m sorry for leaving without telling you. I know I was a shitty friend. But now that you are my boss, I want to be your friend again. Shall we go out?’”

Aika frowned, looking at their boss’s office.

“I’m sure she doesn’t remember me, anyway. And before you say something,” Rino pointed at her friend, “even if she does, I’m sure she hates me.”

“Those are lots of _‘I’m sure’_ there.” Aika shrugged.

“Is there any reason you are here so early in the morning?”

“Nah! I just like annoying you.” Aika giggled, tapping the desk. “Oshima-san is looking for you.”

Whenever Oshima Mai asked to see Sashihara Rino, it wasn’t a good sign.

It made her whimper.

The walls felt like shrinking. Coming closer. In the back of Rino’s mind, she knew that this moment would come. She avoided Watanabe Mayu’s office for three weeks, and finally, she ran out of luck. With each step, Rino’s hands shook more and more, making her feel lightheaded and at the edge of a panic attack. Escaping was not an option.

The knock on the door makes her jump. Rubs a sweaty hand over her black chinos and with the other grips the writing-pad.

Her knuckles turn white.

“Come in.”

This was her opportunity to escape. Write her resignation letter, grab all her personal stuff from the desk, and run away again.

Her feet refused to move.

Mai-Mai, how Rino liked to call her team leader, greeted their boss with a beaming tone. Mayu smiled slightly, returning the greeting, her voice sounding more neutral. It took Rino a second to move her body, closing the door as slowly as possible. Standing right behind Mai, using the older woman as a shield, she only bowed out of respect. She couldn’t make a sound because her mouth was as dry as a desert.

The fight-flight response overloading her senses. The writing pad open against her thighs, her right foot tapping the floor, and her eyes focused on the carpet with her back hunched.

“I trust Rino here can deal with the job.”

Looking up at the mention of her name, Rino felt the air leave her lungs. The intense stare that the young boss was giving her froze her. She knew Mai was also looking at her, but everything was out of focus, nothing mattered. Not when Mayu was looking at her. She felt she was fifteen again and under the curious gaze of a younger but not less beautiful Watanabe Mayu.

In a blink, the reunion ended, and she was back in the office bustle.

With her eyebrows up, Aika saw Rino ambling back towards her desk on the office’s other side. The older girl stared at the dark screen of her computer for long minutes before crossing her arms on the desk and resting her head above them.

A few hours later, the entire area heard a _‘weren’t you listening, Sashihara?!’_ followed by a shriek and a door slam.

Upon reaching her apartment, Rino left her shoes and briefcase on the floor at the entrance, with the last of her energies dragged her feet towards her room and threw herself over the bed face down. She felt like screaming. For long moments she stayed in the same position. Turning around and looking at her ceiling, she cursed her luck, the world, and Tokyo. Encountering Mayu was something that her heart wanted to happen, but her mind feared.

How long has it been since they saw each other? Ten years?

Watanabe Mayu transfers in seventh grade.

Rino sees fitting that their homeroom teacher gives Mayu the chair near the window on the last row. No one wants to engage with her after that first week. Rino waits. Studying Mayu for long days, losing herself in Mayu’s aura of superiority, loneliness, and sadness that no one seemed to notice.

One day, Hanako and her gang cornered Rino during lunch hour. They grabbed her lunch and threw it to the floor, leaving Rino cleaning the mess as they walked away laughing. A usual happening after a bored Hanako messed up with the other kids. Growing used to such behavior, Rino allowed whatever the girl wanted to do with her. Hiding her tears and anger for a later moment when she was alone.

In the middle of cleaning, Rino noticed someone standing right in front of her. _‘Here we go again,’_ she thought. “Did you forget insulting me?” she sighed without looking up.

“Why do you allow them to be mean to you?”

It wasn’t the voice she was expecting to hear. Mayu was frowning slightly and handing her a handkerchief.

“Thank you. But I don’t want to get it dirty.”

Rino is wary. There was no evidence that Mayu is the bully type but there wasn’t evidence that assured Rino that she wasn’t one either. Hanako seemed nice in the beginning.

When Mayu walks out of the classroom, Rino regretted rejecting her.

With only enough money to return home, buying lunch was out of the equation. Rino pondered on the consequences of eating the now dirty tamagoyaki and rice while eating a few grapes (cleaning them in her skirt before putting them in her mouth). When the door slid open, Mayu walked towards Rino with two bottles of water and Anpan bread.

“I’m sure dirty tastes better, but this is the only thing I could afford.”

And that was it.

The next day, Rino packed a few snacks, sharing them with Mayu over lunch.

Slowly, they forged a nice friendship.

When school began the next year, they sat together. Sharing their likes about anime and idols, having studying sessions, and going out (Rino always dragging a grumpy Mayu around the mall or the arcade). They have fun together. Then Kashiwagi Yuki appeared in the picture.

It was the beginning of ninth grade when Mayu noticed Yuki at the library. The older girl placing the books back on their respective shelves. More than once, Mayu and Yuki shared looks and shy smiles. It was Rino who encouraged her friend to get close to Yuki, the one who pushed them together.

It was awkward at first, but as days went by, they all found a middle ground and became closer. Mayu and Rino being the most random and loud out of them, leaving Yuki to be the one in charge of calming them down. Only to join into the mess at the end.

And it was a fantastic friendship. But Rino couldn’t suppress the feelings blossoming in her heart.

Rino has no chance to win against one infamous Yukirin. She endures the many outings where she feels like the third-wheel. Thinking about it, Rino regretted pushing Mayu to talk with Yuki.

But the heart can only endure as much pain.

When the shy smiles turned into giggles, the looks into subtle touches, or when a joke only Mayu and Yuki understood turned into intimate hugs and whispers. Rino’s heart broke. When her friends began having their own little bubble, leaving Rino to be a spectator of what seemed like pure love. It hurt. Because honestly, what could Rino offer to Mayu? What could Rino be good at? She was a coward, an idiot in love with her best friend.

They made plans to attend TODAI, to continue together no matter what. But things changed fast, and Rino didn’t have time to adjust.

Their usual study groups get canceled one by one. It seems like Mayu avoids Rino, or at least avoids being alone with her. Mayu says that she is busy, that something came out. More than once, Rino saw Yuki waiting at the entrance.

Hanako seemed to notice the drift too. She knew the best mean words to say, and Rino used to it allowed everything. Allowed Hanako to hurt her, degrade her, laugh at her, and show her how alone she was. Because that was her life before Mayu and Yuki.

It only takes three weeks. Three weeks of bullying, low notes, and heartache to crack and make a cowardly move. Rino begged her mom to allow her to go back to Oita. Her mother agreed after listening to Rino crying, telling her she couldn’t handle the bullying. Excuse after excuse, her mother believed it all. She didn’t make it to the examination day.

She said goodbye to her dreams of attending TODAI, her friends, and her love.

“Watanabe took her time,” Hanako said once when she tried to fight back. Neither Mayu nor Yuki was there to defend her. “I was wondering how long it would take her to ditch you.”

And that one was a low punch.

A loud growl pulled Rino out of her thoughts.

“I know…” Rino sighed, tapping her stomach.

A few stressful late nights, an annoying Aika, and a grumpy Mai later. Rino sighed, stretching her back and arms. The new software project was moving faster than expected, which was a good sign for everyone, but it stressed them more than usual. Until someone broke the coffee machine from their resting area. Turning the office into chaos full of coffee deprived grumpy zombies.

Rino, usually, leaves the office around six. Unlike her most workaholic coworkers. She takes a break, one elbow resting on the armchair while pinching her nose’s bridge. Her eyes feel tired of staring at the bright screen.

“You should go home.”

The unexpected voice and to whom it belonged made her squeal. Gravity is a powerful element on Earth. No one escaped it, not even a scared Rino. As she used more force than needed to push her chair, the backrest gave up and made her fall to the floor with a loud thud.

“Are you okay?!”

Watanabe Mayu, in full glory, kneeled next to Rino, eyes full of worry and surprise. If anyone had told her that falling was all it took for them to talk again, she would’ve laughed. The whole situation was hilarious. Too good to be true. Or maybe it was a dream.

So, laugh, she did.

“Does it hurt?” Mayu asked, still looking at her former friend and now employee with worry.

Rino shakes her head. They share an awkward but not oppressive silence. Aika said that she could make friends as easy as she could use a computer.

But how does it work talking with your ex-friend, who you ghosted and now was your boss?

After mustering some courage, Rino looks up. Mayu is leaning on her desk, hands gripping the edge and her long wavy hair covering her face. She’d grown up to be the beautiful woman that Rino knew she would.

Breathtaking.

“I wanted-“

“Do you-“

Both turned their heads and looked at each other. Rino snorted, Mayu smiled.

“I think we have issues to resolve,” Rino said with a grin.

Sashihara Rino still loves Watanabe Mayu.

But wonders if Mayu and Yuki were still together.

They agreed to talk once the project is finished and Rino had slept for more than two hours.

After their project’s success, Mayu invited everyone to dinner as a thank you for everyone’s hard work. Their interaction in front of everyone was still awkward. No one noticed the lingering stares and the brief smiles. Or at least that’s what Rino thought.

“You sure went from gay mess to fucking our boss, huh?” Aika whispered, wiggling her eyebrows.

Rino spat the beer in her mouth. Drenching Mai in the process.

“Sashihara…”

“I’m sorry!”

Everyone around the table laughs.

“Good luck tonight,” Aika winked before leaving Rino in the middle of the street.

She sighed. _Typical_. Wondering if her friend would ever grow up.

“Do you live nearby?”

Mayu’s voice made her shudder.

“Um… I guess?” Rino turned around, her cheeks feeling warm. Maybe she had too much beer or the words Aika had said along the wink she gave her before leaving. Or having Mayu in front of her. Before she could stop her mouth, she added, “Why?”

“I could drive you,” Mayu said.

_You drive me crazy…_

A notorious blush crept on Mayu’s cheeks, making Rino giggle.

“Besides,” Mayu added, “we have issues to resolve.”

Rino laughed.

Something felt off.

It wasn’t the way the light in her face felt twice brighter. Or the way her body felt heavy, groggy, like it didn’t belong to her. Or how her throat hurt more than usual. It wasn’t the apartment either. She knows her own bed, blankets, and pillows. The annoying light is the same as usual. Even her… pajamas?

Still uneasy, she pulls herself up, arms stretched. Everything spins because, of course, a hangover is what she needs right now. But since when a couple of beers gave her this reaction?

A frown forms. Rino didn’t drink that much—and she knows because she experimented with it, and to make her feel this, she needs at least ten beers.

Rino walks towards the bathroom, a hand pressing the side of her head, and the other stretched out to keep her balance. She takes longer than usual, but she gets to her destiny. A grunt leaves her mouth when she sees her reflection in the mirror.

Hair wild, bloodshot eyes, puffy face, and something red on her neck. Something that looked like lipstick smear.

_What the hell even happened?_

Her foggy memory can’t remember how she reached home.

The water overflows the bath as she sinks underwater.

It takes less than five seconds to realize that she is late. And no amount of running would help her. So, she texts Aika and receives laugher and memes in exchange. Nothing out of the usual.

Breakfast is prepared, coffee and aspirin because, _dear lord, this hangover hits hard_. Something told her that her life has changed, but she still can’t put her finger on it. She dresses up and grabs her keys, purse, and…

And she screams.

People always called her an idiot. There were many instances in which she can agree with them. Like right now. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that she is one hour late. She crawls and tries to channel her inner ninja, hoping neither Oshima Mai and Watanabe Mayu find her. She’s also trying to hide the blush on her face with a facemask.

“The nerve of not hurrying up.”

Rino falls to the floor, hissing as the pain extends like electricity through her body from her ass. (And later on, she would still wonder how she didn’t let out a scream.) Gets up, rubbing her pained behind. Her hands pushing Aika through the first empty conference room and close the door, trying to be as silent as possible. Her friend taps her heels on the floor, arms crossed, and an annoyed frown.

“I’m sorry. Okay?!” Rino’s jaw tensed, her voice strained and back crunched. “Listen, something… something happened last night.” One of Aika’s eyebrows goes up, and her feet stop moving. “I didn’t even know I could get drunk with five beers…”

“Five?” Aika snorts. “Rino, you drank more than twice the amount the entire table drank…”

“I…” Rino tried forming more words, but her mind refused to acknowledge the extra information. “No…”

“Did you fuck our boss?”

“AIKA!”

“Don’t Aika me and spill!”

“Sashihara!”

If the scream came from the other end of the office, Rino wouldn’t even blink. Used to Mai yelling at her for whatever reason she did, and she admits that playing a little prank on her team leader was worth it more than once. But it came from Mayu’s side of the office, and it made her jump and want to cry. All she wanted to do was to spend the day as invisible as possible and leave before Mayu even looks at her direction and call-in sick the next day.

Coward. _Sue her._

But when her shaking legs allowed her to walk inside the big office, no one was there. Watanabe Mayu didn’t attend the office because of a family matter and messaged Mai. She needed to have some information for the HR department and wanted Mai and Rino to help her this time. There was no danger, no embarrassing questions, and thoughts. So why in hell was Rino feeling disappointed?

That was a rhetorical question because she knew why. Could anyone blame her, though?

She felt calm. At least for a day.

“You know that now you must talk to her?”

Rino was so close to punching Aika in the face to make her shut up, and she couldn’t even feel terrible about that thought. It was over a week since that dinner party. A week in which she allowed any memory to return. Feeling a pang of pain and disappointment when she remembered the red smear on her neck.

Amid a drunken conscience, Rino invited Mayu to go up and continue drinking. They didn’t get to say anything when Rino kissed Mayu who returned the kiss and as the kiss changed into a more passionate one, the young boss untangled herself.

_No. Please don’t._ Rejection hurts twice as harder.

“You know that-“

The conversation interrupted by a third voice.

“Can we talk?”

Rino knew that this was the end. Looking at the first drawer of her desk, where the resignation letter was resting, she sighs. She’d written it for this day, just in case.

A level of regret blossoms once both women are in the elevator. Rino feels like she shouldn’t have accepted the invitation, not when the dinner would be this intimate. But who was she lying to? The fear comes from a more profound and hidden place in her heart that she tried to bury but couldn’t because her heart twinges even to this day whenever she sees Watanabe Mayu. So, she says _yes_. But Rino wants to run away again. Still, something in Mayu’s smile makes her walk out behind her and follow her into the apartment. However, there is a self-conscious thought creeping in the back of her head. The second-hand clothes she’s wearing and her tiny apartment’s image, compared to the ample space Mayu calls home, stand out like a sore thumb.

“Sorry for the intrusion,” Rino whispers and freezes a few seconds right at the door, shoes halfway taken.

On the rest of the house, the lights bounce on the high white walls and make the grey sofas from the living room to look as expensive as the rest of the building. The coffee table between a large sofa and the hugest TV Rino has seen in her life shines. She’s seen places like this in magazines of high-end interior designs. She has daydreamed of how it would be to live in a penthouse, right above the city. Her cheeks get warm, remembering how she bought one of those magazines. The places and designs looked way too expensive for her salary.

_Of course_ , this is how Mayu lives. She sighs, getting her shit together. She changes her most-used shoes for the slippers in silence. Forcing her feet to walk, she takes one step after the other, trying to keep her mouth and eyes from growing bigger and bigger with every single detail. But it’s hard, and that’s how Mayu finds her. Mayu giggles at Rino’s blush.

After that moment of awe, Mayu tells her to sit on the large couch and asks her if she wants wine while she calls her favorite restaurant for delivery. And Rino whispers that she doesn’t know how to drink wine. Mayu excuses for a moment, returning with a beer for Rino and a glass of red wine for her. She also has her phone against her ear, listening to whatever the other person is telling her.

In that moment of distraction, Rino takes her time to notice the details around. Near the TV, framed photos take her attention. It’s been ages since she saw Mayu’s parents and sister, Mayu said once that her parents were busy lawyers. Her older sister was out of the country to finish her doctorate. Rino never met them, but she still remembers the photos Mayu showed her and told her about the stories of the _‘troublesome Watanabe daughters.’_ The photographs seem placed in order of importance. A family photo first, then one of Mayu and her sister and one of Mayu and Yuki.

_Of course._

Rino feels her stomach contracts. Her eyes burn. She takes another gulp of her beer to swallow her feelings.

Mayu finishes the call.

No one says anything. None of them dares to look at the other and drinks their beverages in utter and uncomfortable silence.

“Would you—”

“I’m sorry—”

Both women laugh at the situation. Rino leaves the empty can on the coffee table. On the periphery of her vision, she notices Mayu unbuttoning the dark blue vest of her three-piece suit; it makes her heart race. She takes some air into her lungs before straightening her position and turning towards Mayu.

“I’m sorry for what happened the other day. I was drunker than I thought. I shouldn’t have done that. Not when you are my boss.” Rino looks down, her fingers playing with each other. _Not when we are not even friends_ , she wants to add, but the thought of them not being even close crushes her heart just as much as the day she left school.

She can almost hear the way Mayu’s brain works at full charge to come up with something appropriate to say. She places her glass on the table too and sighs.

“Why…” the hesitation on Mayu’s voice makes Rino raise her head. She has never heard such a tone in the younger girl’s voice. Not even when they were younger.

Rino thinks she wants to ask about the kiss from the other night, and her palms sweat because how can she even confess her actual feelings?

“I’m sorry,” Rino repeats, her arms stretch and palms grip her knees. She bows her head. “I wasn’t thinking. My mind was perhaps thinking of someone el-else...” Rino hopes that Mayu buys it. “I’m really sorry.” Rino gets up and does a ninety-degree bow.

“Sasshi…” Rino has to close her eyes, biting lower lip to suppress the gasp that escaped her mouth.

It’s been ages since she heard that nickname. Not even Aika uses it, and not for the lack of closeness, but because Rino always remembered her time with Mayu whenever people called her Sasshi. She felt the air leave her lungs. This time, she couldn’t stop the lone tear that fell from her eyes, and her shoulders shook. Her legs gave up and kneeled before Mayu, her hands laying in front, her head pressed against them.

“Please, don’t.”

A hand pulled her shoulder up, but Rino sank deeper on the ground. She thought this was it, no more opportunities. But then a pair of hands pulled her forward, and the next second pushed her against soft hair as arms wrapped around her shoulders.

The doorbell interrupts the moment.

“It’s okay,” Rino whispered as she reincorporated and sat on her legs, “go get it.” Mayu looks at the door and back at Rino. “Go.”

It takes Mayu a few seconds to get up, grab her purse, and walk towards the door. Meanwhile, Rino cleans her tears and takes a few puffs of air to center herself and calm her mind. This was going to be more difficult than expected.

They eat in silence, still in the living, Mayu gets another beer to Rino and refills her glass. There’s a wide variety of foods, from chicken to noodles to Ramen to sushi. But Rino pays little attention to the taste or the amount of food. Her mind is still trying to get back to a place where she can feel safe. She needs her apartment, her bed, needs to cry and scream. Alone.

They eat the food.

“When did you return to Tokyo?”

The change of topic doesn’t pass unnoted. Rino is thankful but wonders how long it would take them to pick up where they left. For now, she indulges her boss.

After the fifth beer, Rino feels brave enough. The bitter liquid makes her mind feel loose and pushes her insecurities out of the window. She needs to ask, or she would burst.

“So, how’s married life treating you?”

Mayu, in the middle of drinking, spits the expensive liquid and coughs. She places the glass on the table, grabs a napkin, and cleans her lips. She tries to clear her throat and calm herself before looking at her ex best-friend.

“Married life?” Her voice sounding hoarse, Mayu tries to clear her throat once again.

“I mean,” she points at the photographs in front of them, “You and Yuki. Everyone thought you two would end up married.”

Mayu looks over the framed photos and then back to Rino and laughs.

“We are not married—”

“Oh. Dating then? You both sure are taking things slower than I thought.” Rino takes a sip of her beer and adds before Mayu could say something, “I mean back at school they had bets of when would you two get married, who would ask who, and how fantastic the wedding would be.” Rino laughs bitterly, remembering how each talk and bet broke her heart a little each day. “I guess I just lost a lot of money.”

“Why did you leave?”

The harsh tone in those words make Rino look at her boss. She’d only seen that stony glare aimed at anyone that dared to say something mean to her. Mayu stares. She knows this conversation would come someday, especially with them working together.

She sighs and leaves the can on the table, along with the other four. Being on the floor makes it easy for her to hug her knees, protecting herself for the lie she’s about to say, and hopes that Mayu buys it.

“My grandma needed help, my parents were busy and I—”

“Don’t insult me, Sasshi.” Rino hugged her knees tighter at the harsh tone. “Yuki and I tried to contact you. We texted, emailed, and called you. We even went to your house. Your mother told us how miserable you were at school. Why… why you never told us?”

Rino looked towards the door and pressed her cheek against her knees, hugging herself even tighter. How could she escape?

“You—”

Rino’s words got stuck in her throat. She didn’t know how honest she could be. She would sound whiny, immature, but she didn’t care. She allowed herself to sound like that because back then she was all that and more.

“You and Yuki left me first,” Rino whispered, still not daring to look at Mayu, her eyes glued on the front door.

“What?”

“I said that you and—”

“I heard you the first time.” Mayu spat, making Rino flinch in her position. The movement made Mayu close her eyes, trying to calm the rage starting to grow in her stomach. “We… we never left you. What do you even mean?”

The dry laugh made Mayu’s frown burrow deeper in her face. Rino could only guess the confusion; she knew that no one would understand. But now that she opened her mouth, now that she remembered, and that Mayu was asking, nothing could go worse.

“Suddenly, it was just you and Yuki.” She looks at the picture of her ex-friends, she notices Mayu looking at the photo too and then back at Rino. “There was no time for Sasshi.” Rino gets angrier because this is all she wanted to say when she was younger. “Suddenly, _WE_ stopped walking home together. The only talks we had were about Yuki and how good she was, or whenever Yuki invited you to something. Yuki, Yuki, Yuki!”

Rino wipes her tears and looks at Mayu with all the pain and anger she had bottled up all those years.

“There was no one by my side, and just as in the beginning, before you transferred, everyone was laughing at me. Everyone was torturing me day by day while you and Yuki had fun together! You left me because I wasn’t worth it. Everyone said that…” her chest hurt, her breathing was heavy, her palms had turned into fists. She was trying to not cry, but she didn’t know how long could she stand this confession.

“I was alone…” Rino then laughs because this is all too much, and she doesn’t want to cry. “Without friends and without love.”

And that’s it. After years of hiding the truth, in a rage whine, Rino confesses everything.

“ _‘Mayu and Yuki are the best couple that will come out of this schoo_ l,’ they all said out loud. But in whispers, they also added, _‘I still don’t understand why Sashihara still hangs around them.’ ‘Sashihara sure likes to cling to Yuki-senpai’s popularity. She’s so desperate to fit in, that freak.’_ ” Rino looks at Mayu, “You know what was the worst thing?” Mayu turns her head from side to side, “that they were right. You had only eyes for Yuki, and I stupidly fell in love knowing that you would never, ever see me as you looked at her.”

Rino lets her words sink in.

Allows Mayu to process her words. When Mayu stretches her hand to touch her Rino decides she had enough.

She gets up.

“I’ll hand my resignation letter tomorrow. Kissing you the other night was my mistake. Confessing all this was another mistake, and I don’t want to make things at work to be awkward.” She bows and turns towards the door once again.

Before Rino can even put her shoes back on, she feels a hand holding her wrist and turning her around. Lips against her own dry lips are all Rino can feel once her brain can catch up with the situation. She tries to push Mayu away because this is not right. Mayu has Yuki, Mayu must be drunk and delusional and… Rino’s back hits the front door making her gasp. Mayu takes this as encouragement and presses herself against Rino and deepens the kiss.

Rino swears she’s dreaming because there’s no way her ex-best friend, and her current boss is kissing someone like her. But if this is a dream, if this is the product of alcohol or whatever, she wants to be selfish and takes everything she can.

They need air eventually, and both women gasp for air once they pull away just enough to look at each other. There’s something in Mayu’s eyes, something that looks like guilt, sorrow, and regret. Rino doesn’t know if it’s because of their kiss or because of her confession earlier. She feels Mayu resting her forehead against her own and cupping her face.

“I—” Mayu gulps, “I always loved you, Sasshi…”

The world spins. Rino tries to make it stop by holding Mayu’s shoulders for support because she doesn’t trust her shaking body at that moment.

“What?”

“I thought,” Mayu sobs, “I thought you would never feel the same. I needed some space to… I thought that by staying away from you for a few months, I would… it confused me. Yuki suggested that I should tell you. But I was so afraid and—I needed to see how it would feel like to be without you for some time…” Mayu leans in, leaving soft kisses this time.

Mayu cries on Rino’s shoulder. They both are. But the surprising confession is still processing in Rino’s mind, and all she can do is hold on to Mayu.

“Yuki and I were never a couple,” Mayu whispers, the air hitting Rino’s neck and making her shiver.

Mayu readies her heart for rejection. Nothing happens. Mayu gets nervous, maybe Rino now hates her and Yuki, maybe Rino thinks this is a joke and would be mad at her, maybe…

“Please, say something.”

The pleading makes Rino focus. Words don’t come out, her brain still fried by the confession, she can’t make her mouth form the sounds of letters. So Rino does what her instinct tells her body to do.

Sashihara Rino kisses Watanabe Mayu.

Desperate kisses, needy hands, and pleasing sounds fill the quiet apartment. Both women didn’t have the patience to walk towards the bedroom. Ending right where the night began. On the expensive grey couch. Both taking the lead, enjoying following the kisses, or making the other shudder. Time wasn’t relevant, not when they were undoing buttons and opening shirts, revealing more skin.

Under or above, that was the question.

Mayu was straddling Rino, with her lips against the skin of the older girl’s neck. Tasting, marking. Her hands holding Rino’s hips in place. Mayu couldn’t help the moan escaping her lips when Rino’s nails sank into her back’s skin. Her pristine shirt was hanging open around the middle of her arms, exposing her shoulders. Through the material of her pants, Mayu feels Rino’s warm hand gripping her thigh.

In one swift movement, the positions reverse, making Rino hover above a laying Mayu. Rino didn’t waste time and buried her face in the middle of her covered breasts. Mayu arched her back, hands pulling strands of hair with each kiss that burned her bare skin. Both needed more, so much more.

“Please…”

The pleading is lost in between lips. Desperate hands unbutton and unzip her pants. Both moan when a hand touches the soaked underwear. The kisses and fondle were short-circuiting Mayu’s mind. Even with indirect contact makes her body shudder. The orgasm was nearing way too quickly; the foreplay wasn’t helping, and the embarrassment tainted her cheeks crimson red.

_“I love you.”_

None of them knows who says it first, but they echo each other from thereon. Can’t stop saying it, not when one is two fingers inside, and the other woman is rolling her hips over and over. The noises began a staccato chorus of moans, and when teeth graze the skin behind Mayu’s ear, she crumbles with a scream.

“Finally, you fucked our boss!” Aika says louder than Rino expects.

“AIKA!”

“You are wearing the same clothes and smell just like her.”

“Just…” Rino knows that if she doesn’t confess, Aika will embarrass her until she speaks. She sighs, pressing her fingers on her temple, “Yes, I did.”

Just as Aika laughs aloud, making half the office turn towards them, Watanabe Mayu walks inside and Rino can’t help the smile that forms on her face. Mayu looks down, Rino swears that she saw the blush before hair covered the younger woman’s face.

A hand lands on her back.

“You have a month to tell her to raise my salary.”

Aika leaves Rino with her mouth open but can’t help the snort when Rino yells, _“Aika, what the hell?!”_

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt list I found on Tumblr... It's a challenge I self-imposed to force some writing out of me
> 
> The prompt list can be found [here](https://tmblr.co/ZTIw8k1ocgTwE)
> 
> If you have suggestions for other pairings, please let me know.


End file.
